ATI pauses contract talks with steelworkers union, cites coronavirus impact

Allegheny Technologies Inc. has paused contract talks with the United Steelworkers union, citing a lack of progress and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, a company spokeswoman said Friday.

About 1,300 USW members have continued working at nine ATI locations, including the hot rolling mill and processing facility in Harrison, since the last contract expired Feb. 29.

“We really need to focus on making sure we can keep our employees safe with the coronavirus and that we’re able to deliver on our customer commitments,” ATI spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie said. “We’re going to use this time to assess the economic impact on our business before we resume.”

In a negotiations update Friday, the union acknowledged that company management told them it was taking a “pause” from bargaining. It made no mention of the coronavirus.

“Our committee will be ready and available to negotiate when ATI is prepared to meet again,” the update stated.

Gillespie could not say how long the pause would last.

She did not know if ATI had plans to shut down or idle any of its facilities.

“It’s obviously a constantly changing situation,” she said. “We’ll continue assessing and do whatever is best for our employees and our operations.”

Gillespie said the sides had been negotiating “diligently” and had exchanged proposals twice in the past week.

However, she said, “We’re not seeing any movement on the major economic issues from the USW.”

Gillespie said the company proposed a four-year contract March 10.

“We’ve increased our wage offer twice through these negotiations to 3% per year, or 12% over the term of the contract,” she said.

The union said there has been progress on health care and other issues, but that company management “continues to demand too many unacceptable and unnecessary changes to our contract.”

The union said ATI is still proposing substandard wages and “refusing to recognize our need for pension increases,” among other issues.

“Long past expiration, ATI management still hopes our committee will consent to concessions that we refused when the company demanded them during its illegal lockout in 2015 and 2016.”

As a show of solidarity, the union is asking workers to wear red on St. Patrick’s Day to show management “that ATI steelworkers are ready to turn up the heat!”